Imagine, it’s Saturday, July 4, 2076. The 300th anniversary of America’s independence. Fifty years before, residents, organizations and schools wrote letters and messages to the “future people” of Ogle County.

Those letters were gathered and placed into time capsules so they could be opened today and read by the current citizens of the county.

Some of the original authors are standing in the audience, waiting to read their letters once again, 50 years later. How much has changed in the world since the time capsules were sealed away in the vaults at Memorial Plaza on the south side of the old courthouse? Were you a student in school and wrote a letter in 2026 or did your grandparent place a letter in the vault so you could read it and make this day happen in 2076?

The Ogle County Historical Society and the Ogle County Board are in the early stages of making this collection of letters to our future happen. They are reaching out to the school communities, civic organizations and the citizens of Ogle County to take a few minutes and write a letter to the future.

Letters containing information about the day-to-day activities taking place, letters about the families in the communities, letters talking to their descendants, letters about the hopes and dreams of the writer are all possible topics to be preserved for a celebration in 50 years.

Plans are underway for watertight time capsules to be enclosed in secured vaults and placed in the Memorial Plaza being designed south of the old courthouse in the center of the county seat in Oregon.

Final details of size and number of time capsules is under discussion at this point and will be announced in the future. These tamper-proof vaults will be marked for opening on July 4, 2076. Additional invitations to schools and organizations will be forthcoming as soon as more specific details are available.

Watch the newspaper and social media for more information so you can submit your letter to be enclosed in the time capsule and included in this historic event. Intentions are that the time capsule will be sealed in the vault(s) later this year, around July 4, 2026, as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of our nation.

Start working on your letter to the future soon. Instructions on what kind of paper to use, where to drop your letter for collection, etc., will follow soon.

If you are interested in volunteering to help in your community with this county-wide project, contact by writing to the Ogle County Historical Society, Box 183, Oregon, IL 61061, by emailing “oglecohistory@gmail.com” or by calling 815-732-7545.

You do not need to be a member of the Ogle County Historical Society to volunteer to take part in this historical event.